


stay tonight

by orphan_account



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: (later) - Freeform, Alternate Universe - Heaven, Angst, Court Cases, Court Member Jaehyun, Fallen Angel Johnny, Fluff, Forbidden Love, I'm Bad At Summaries, Johnny is a Tease, Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun is Whipped, Letters, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Suh Youngho | Johnny is Whipped, angel jaehyun, doyoung is a good friend, star crossed lovers
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-19
Updated: 2020-05-24
Packaged: 2021-03-02 23:02:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,548
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24264796
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: Jaehyun is a good angel: He’s never missed a day of work, always diligent, always seeking the best in people, for his people.But he’s got a flaw: he’s in love with Johnny.And he’s got a soft spot for the youth, especially when that youth is Park Jisung.Or: Court Angel!Jaehyun and Fallen Angel!Johnny
Relationships: Jung Yoonoh | Jaehyun/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Kim Dongyoung | Doyoung/Lee Taeyong, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Park Jisung/Zhong Chen Le
Comments: 15
Kudos: 42





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> my first chaptered fic woohoo!!!
> 
> i already have most of this written, i just have to revise and get the final chapters completed :)
> 
> oh and info!!: i kinda took advantage of Johnny's height and gave the two of them a height gap whoops 
> 
> this is of course a work of fiction, please don't take things literally
> 
> i hope you enjoy <3

Jaehyun smiles brightly as he regards the passerby, waving to friends and strangers alike as he walks down the cobbled pathway of gold. The streets harbor the renewed vigor of a new day, new duties of his brethren that need fulfilling making it hard to differentiate the mass of white from the clouds, everyone moving closely with purpose to their steps. 

And Jaehyun’s no different. Being a high-ranking member of the Holy Tribunal who’re often tasked with the hardest cases in all the heavens, he rarely gets a chance to just stop and _look_. 

At the white buildings of marble, massive columns of granite stretching to the atmospheres. At the way his people dart about, feathered wings of ivory fluttering as some choose to fly, some to walk. At the hand that waves vigorously in front of his face, Ten’s own appearing in front of him with an especially amused look. 

Jaehyun hadn’t realized he’d actually stopped amidst the crowd until he feels a heavy wing collide into his, sending him tripping into the expectant arms of the laughing man before him. 

“Woah there, brother.” Ten smiles a cat-like grin, quite unholy if you ask Jaehyun. "You're lucky I caught you; they say gold is one of the softest metals, but not if you land face first in it.” 

Ten stumbles with the weight of Jaehyun in his arms, clapping the other on the back before helping him upright. Jaehyun chuckles, fixing his garments self-consciously. Someone of his status shouldn’t be seen in such a compromised state he thinks, but he’s alongside Ten, so his worries cease immediately. 

“Thank you, Tennie. Are there any interesting assignments waiting to be filed?” Jaehyun asks, noticing with a snort the way the other angel’s eyes widen at the question, hands reaching behind him to pull a scroll from under his sash. 

“From what I remembered, it’s mostly just some speeding tickets, you know how the fledglings are when they first get their wings- Oh yeah!” Ten suddenly exclaims, eyes roving over the paper before stopping. 

Jaehyun only stares at the other in confusion, bringing a hand up for Ten to continue. Jaehyun is a busy angel. 

Ten leans in a little closer, any semblance of humor dropping from his face as he whispers inconspicuously towards Jaehyun. "You remember the rumors of the guy, or kid rather, who was found copulating with a human below?” 

Jaehyun nods in hesitant agreement. He’s always known of the hushed words of the angel folk, but as a man of law, never payed heed to any unless they were presented to him in the form of a case. 

“Well, we’ve got his case!” Ten says as low as he can through his rampant elation, grin brighter than the morning star that roams about the sky. Jaehyun tries to relay the same delight across; Ten, firstly as a friend, then as a coworker, knows how passionate Jaehyun is about his duties, shares the same sense of accomplishment every day as they bring justice to the skies. 

But as Ten shares the news, all Jaehyun feels is an impending sense of dread flood his system. Punishments for even allowing a human to see you were harsh, tenfold that if you had relations with them. 

Jaehyun runs a hand through his sun blonde hair, clearing his throat. 

“And what was the boy’s name? Age?” 

Ten deflates at the surprising lack of enthusiasm from his friend, handing the scroll towards Jaehyun with a sigh. 

“It’s all in here, Jae.” Ten pats his shoulder in puzzlement, fist raised with a shy smile in an attempt to raise Jaehyun’s unexpectedly lowered spirits. “I’ll see you later.” 

With one final pat and a smile in Jaehyun’s direction, Ten’s off, choosing today to walk instead of flying like his cohorts. Jaehyun watches him go, a warm look to his gaze as he watches the other join and disappear into the herd of white. Jaehyun stays frozen where he stands, looking upon the crowd as they mingle and mesh with an overwhelming sense of responsibility, only to be broken out of it with the feeling of someone’s heated gaze. Jaehyun spins, expecting to see another of his coworkers, shivering in the light of day when no one calls to him, everyone set to their own tasks. 

Jaehyun blinks, shrugging as he looks towards the sun for the time. 

Settling on the fact he’s got hours to spare, Jaehyun finally makes his way through the crowd, a gut feeling making him decide to walk today, becoming one with the flow of his people. 

Finding a dark corner this high in the sky was difficult, but Jaehyun deems anything suitable, overstepping the litter of wilted feathers as he makes his way down a deserted alleyway. 

Resting against the hard marble of the building, Jaehyun knocks his head against the rock, sighing before pulling the scroll from his sash with fidgety hands. 

Unsheathing the roll, Jaehyun opens the parchment, staring down the information of the supposed evil-doer. 

“Jisung Park, 17, caught in the act with human Chenle Zhong, 18.” Jaehyun mumbles aloud, unable to process the information to himself. He sighs, curling the paper into one hand, head thumping against the wall in frustration. 

“He must've just got his wings, he’s so young.” Jaehyun runs a hand through his curls, shaking his head with both a visual and auditory exhale. 

Pushing himself from the cold stone, Jaehyun turns to face the brightness of the happening streets before him, still in the darkness as he watches small children play amongst themselves, tiny nubs showing the beginnings of wings on the planes of their backs. He feels an overbearing sadness envelop his senses; the shadows casted over him conveying the same feeling of sorrow. 

“He’s so _young_.” Jaehyun whispers, the scroll in his hand seemingly mocking him, stating the unchanging facts of the case Jaehyun will eventually have to face. 

With one last withering look to the children that frolic without a care in the world, Jaehyun moves to place the scroll back in his sash, taking a step towards the brightness before tight hands grip his shoulders. 

“Ah-” He screams, or starts to, one large palm masking the entirety of his mouth and voice with ease, the other wrapping around his chest to drag Jaehyun further backwards into the dark. Jaehyun raises his fists, punching anywhere on his attacker’s body, but in his fearful haze, misses most of the strikes he attempts. 

When the assailant deems them both far enough from anyone’s viewing eyes, they spin Jaehyun around, bracketing their arms against the wall surrounding Jaehyun’s head. 

Jaehyun won’t open his eyes, refuses to as he regards the other. 

“I’m of the Holy Tribunal, and I’ll have you tried for the assault of a ranking official!” He screams before being shushed with a finger to his mouth, a gentle caress to his cheek. 

“What’s got you so worked up, my angel?” An easy voice asks, a voice that Jaehyun recognizes instantly, like the back of his hand. 

Hesitantly prying his eyes open, Jaehyun’s met with the tender ones of the man who towers over him, the dark wings of the other enshrouding them in warmth, from anything besides themselves. 

Jaehyun’s mouth opens in his shock, hands coming up to grip the blazing skin of the man’s cheeks, eyes wide as they shift across the other’s face in disbelief. 

“ _Johnny!_ ” Jaehyun cries, voice barely able to leave him as he splays his fingers across the expanse of the other’s skin, simultaneously reveling in the heat of Johnny’s body and seeing if he’s not a figment of his imagination. “Are you really here?” 

“Yes, angel. I’m here.” Johnny nuzzles his face into the crook of Jaehyun’s neck, fingers delicately splayed across the skin of Jaehyun’s cheeks as he inhales, indulging in the sweet scent of the man below him. “I’ve missed you dearly, I couldn’t wait to see you.” 

“Oh mercy, John. You’ve no idea how much I’ve longed for you.” Jaehyun sighs, revealing more of his neck to the other as Johnny places hurried kisses to the pale skin, lips searing as they leave red marks in their wake. 

Jaehyun groans in synchronous pleasure and displeasure, shaking his head to the rhythm of hot breaths against his jaw. 

“No marks John. Please, just kiss me.” 

Jaehyun yelps at the swift movement, Johnny’s hands curling into his hair, the slight stinging to his scalp as claws weave their way into the strands makes Jaehyun keen before Johnny’s lips meet his. 

Kissing Johnny wasn’t something Jaehyun could describe with words. It was more liberating than his first flight, more nerve-wracking than his first case in the court. 

Which was Johnny’s last. 

~ 

Johnny was a bad angel. After being given the roll of the other’s extensive record, Jaehyun knew there was nothing he could do to save the other from impending punishment. But that didn’t mean he’d hadn’t tried his hardest. 

“Look at this! Only six counts of empyrean misdemeanor and you all want him slain!” Jaehyun slams the reports down to the granite, sneering as he looks down the rows of his brethren, watching the way their faces blanch. “We must be smart about this!” 

At the silence that overtakes the table, Jaehyun clears his throat, righting himself before continuing. “Why must he die so young? The man must’ve only gotten his wings at the most a year ago. He’s barely lived.” 

It’s always been a hard topic to breach for Jaehyun, the only flaw to the otherwise perfect angel, to his new but otherwise objective position in the court; he’s always held a tender spot for the youth. After losing his brother young, Jaehyun made a promise to himself to avenge all the fledglings he can. 

“My brother.” Doyoung, the overall head of their case pipes up, crossing his fingers together in the way he does when he’s in deep thought. “What do you suggest we do?” 

Jaehyun sighs in relief, seeing any sign besides immediate death for the imprisoned angel a good one. 

“Please let me speak to him.” Jaehyun answers resolutely. 

When the guards open the solid metal gates, Jaehyun is overwhelmed firstly by the pure black that encases the dungeon. Angels aren’t meant to stay in such darkness, and the fact that the court wants their prisoners weakened before they could possibly defend themselves in trial disgusts Jaehyun. 

No one follows behind him as he takes a tentative step further into the hallway, the sudden slamming of the gate as it’s closed causing Jaehyun to jump, wings wrapping around his body in fearful protection. 

Inhaling deeply, Jaehyun nods to encourage himself, taking brisk steps to get his journey over with. Peering into each of the cells as he passes by, Jaehyun finds nobody occupying the cells until he reaches the end of the dank tunnel, disdain all for the dark to see. 

_In the darkness and alone_ , Jaehyun muses scornfully. _I’ll have to take this up with Kun._

Jaehyun scrutinizes the last cell, having trouble seeing if there’s anyone even in the confinement, stepping closer to squint inside, hands gripping the iron bars. 

A flash suddenly appears from the corner of the cell, Jaehyun unable to see the person’s quick movements until they’re centimeters from his face in front of the bars. A wide smile overtakes all he can see, and Jaehyun stumbles back in surprise, bottom landing on the damp floor. 

“What’s got you so worked up, angel?” A rather nonchalant voice asks if Jaehyun may provide, seeing as the voice’s living conditions are less than sub-standard. 

Jaehyun runs a hand through his golden curls, clearing his throat awkwardly before standing on shaky legs. 

“I’m with the Holy Tribunal-” 

“I’d assumed.” The voice interrupts. 

Jaehyun rolls his eyes. For someone who’s hands were quite literally in what people would call a “tight situation”, the other is quite chipper. 

“And I’m here for-” 

“Oh! About that!” The voice once again cuts in, and Jaehyun finally chances a look towards the other through the darkness, having previously not wanted to after such an embarrassing first impression. 

When their gazes lock, Jaehyun feels a shift in the air, a spike in the humidity of the dungeon, evident in the way he feels himself perspiring in panic, feels his heartbeat quickening at an unprecedented pace. The other must notice this in the way lifts his nose up almost imperceptibly, inhaling deeply, stepping as close as he can to Jaehyun with his grip tight on the iron rods that cage him. Jaehyun shivers at the smirk that rises to the others face as he takes a slow step back. 

“Am I going to be executed now, angel? If so, then I’m fine, at least I’ll see your beautiful face in my final moments.” 

Contrasting with his confident tone, the other’s words makes Jaehyun’s heart sink, totally disregarding the compliments from the man as he gazes sadly at him through the bars. 

“Stop, you fool.” Jaehyun hushes somberly. He watches as the other’s cool smirk disappears from his face at his sudden change. 

Jaehyun can’t stop himself from reaching out, poised features in opposition of his heart that threatens to fly from his chest. Soft eyes meet even softer skin as Jaehyun cradles the other’s face between his hands, between the bars that separate them, the bars that are unable to stop the warmth that emanates between the two. 

The man’s eyes widen as he feels the heat to his skin, a luxury in a place like this where he’s grown accustomed to the numbing darkness of the night air, befriended the occasional rat that scurries by. Jaehyun keeps his gaze solid as he moves his palms across the man’s cheeks, dipping down between the juncture of his shoulder and neck to steer off onto the velvet of the stems of the wings of the stranger, watching as he shivers at the action. 

Jaehyun breaks their shared stare before smoothing his hand across the downy of the other’s wings, heart quickening as he watches them flutter into full span, the man allowing more of himself to be revealed to Jaehyun. 

_They’re graying_ , Jaehyun laments inwardly. Subdued in the lack of light but no less evident, Jaehyun’s disheartened at the implications: the man before him was at the end of his own line, nevermind the court’s. 

Hands seemingly moving with a mind of their own as they caress the ashen expanse of the man’s pinion, Jaehyun turns his head back up to meet the eyes of the other, inhaling sharply, hands dropping reluctantly as he meets the fiery gaze of the man before him. Stepping back from the warmth that seems to ooze from the other regardless of the chilled air that surrounds them, Jaehyun bows his head in silent apology for letting his curiosity get the best of him. 

Still reeling from what just transpired, Jaehyun takes in a deep breath, seriousness overtaking him before he clears his throat to speak. 

“I will save you from your death, I want you to live. But you will be banished.” He declares, voice echoing through the black emptiness of the prison. Jaehyun doesn’t know exactly what reaction he expects from the other, but he’s seemingly unprepared for the massive grin that engulfs the other’s face, smile radiant through the darkness of his confines as he answers to Jaehyun. 

“I wish for nothing more, angel.” 

Jaehyun makes it his routine, his duty even, to meet the man in the cell, even bribing the guards enough to let him bring the man’s dinner just so they could talk. Jaehyun comes under the pretense of the case, but he knows it’s more than that. He’s simply grown attached to the other, become familiar with the weighty stares that come his way, sought the companionship he’s missed in his lonely life above, Jaehyun often in a confinement of his own; but the man behind the bars frees him of that. They liberate one another. 

Yet, Jaehyun will not acknowledge the other by his name, refuses to. Each passing day they grow closer, gazes heavier, hidden smiles brighter, they know that separation is inevitable. Jaehyun curses himself for even allowing things to get this far, but like their separation, he knew his feelings were inescapable. 

Trapped in the deep pools of the other’s eyes, Jaehyun finds himself drowning and being saved at the same time, the man before him his savior and his oppressor simultaneously. 

And when Jaehyun returns the same gaze, watching as the prisoner sucks in a deep breath before slipping a gentle hand through the bars, gripping his in fiery reverence, Jaehyun knows the feeling’s mutual. 

The day of his exile, they don’t speak. They don’t need to when words are meaningless, gazes shared between them the only significant communication in the darkness of their surroundings. 

Jaehyun jolts when he hears the clashing of the metal gates, the guards shuffling in hurriedly to restrain the prisoner in golden shackles before the banishment. 

The man smiles one last time towards Jaehyun, eyes cinching together with the power of his grin before hardening his features as he faces the men who cuff him, huffing as he’s roughly pushed out of the cell. 

Jaehyun feels as if the dam that’s been festering inside him the moment he saw the man is about to break, water bursting through the walls in the form of tears that collect in his eyes. 

He can’t help himself if he tried, the voice escaping him echoing throughout the dungeon as the other’s jostled towards the exit. 

“Good luck to you, John! I wish for you to remember me by my name if you deem fit. It’s Jaehyun.” 

The last Jaehyun sees of Johnny is the grin that overwhelms his features, wincing as he turns his neck to regard Jaehyun against the guard’s ceaseless shoving. 

“I’ve always known, my angel.” Johnny stills in his movements entirely, continuing to let the men try to move him as he spins on a quick heel towards Jaehyun. “But thank you anyways.” What Johnny doesn’t say is _thank you for sharing the dark with me, sharing yourself with me_ , but then again, words aren’t the most important to the two. Jaehyun still understands entirely. 

When Johnny was officially casted out of the heavens, Jaehyun wasn’t there to see it, couldn’t see it, refused to. But that doesn’t mean he feels it any less. He doesn’t want to, but Jaehyun accepts the emptiness in his heart, in his soul at the loss of Johnny, his hopeless angel. 

His brethren soon notice the effects of his misery, the lack of luster in his eyes and wings. 

“Did you something happen with your mate, brother?” Yuta asks sincerely, stopping their meeting to observe the usually impassioned Jaehyun, the man in question slouching against his seat near the head of the table. 

“Jaehyun is _mated?_ ” Donghyuck’s eyes widen, sitting up from his previously slouched position in rapt attention. The meeting breaks out in excited chatter, the innocent questions of his brethren increasingly overwhelming Jaehyun into physical pain at his Johnny-induced wounds. 

“ _Silence!_ This is not important. Let Jaehyun sit out for the rest of the day. Resume meeting, brothers.” Doyoung cuts in, standing before the winged men with a deep frown marring his face, shooting Jaehyun a troubled look as he sits back down. 

“Were you recently imprinted on by someone?” Doyoung asks in an empty hallway, voice low as he interrogates his closest brother behind the safety of a massive column. At Jaehyun’s stunned silence and sudden intake of air, Doyoung allows himself to continue. 

“Did you not take Anatomy in school, brother? How could you be so careless as to disregard the effects of a separated bond?” Doyoung whisper-screeches, a tone maybe Ten and Donghyuck have taken the brunt of, but not Jaehyun. He’s once again struck silent under Doyoung’s immovable quizzing. 

Frustrated, but softening under Jaehyun’s crestfallen state, Doyoung runs an anxious hand through his hair, huffing as he then rests it atop Jaehyun’s shoulder in support. 

“Please be more careful, Jaehyun. I won’t ask anymore, but I will be keeping an eye on you.” Doyoung moves to hug Jaehyun, the other retuning it graciously. 

“Please get some rest, we need you out there. Your people need you.” 

And with one last squeeze, Doyoung is off, wings flapping in the wind as he soars into the open sky with unmatched grace. 

Jaehyun sniffs, squaring his shoulders, ignoring the hole in his chest as he follows suit, wings falling to full span before he takes off. 

In bed that night, Jaehyun makes a promise to keep on for his people, for his kin, for his brothers, and especially for his hopeless angel. And with the vow ringing through his thoughts, Jaehyun falls into the first taste of sleep he’s gotten in weeks. 

~ 

“Johnny, no.” Jaehyun whines begrudgingly at the situation, hands pressed against Johnny’s chest as the man attempts to slither a warm hand underneath his garments. The continuous assault to his lips and neck ceases at his at protests, Johnny’s claws retracting as he tries to reign in his excitement. “Not here. What would happen if someone saw us?” 

At the question, Johnny rolls his eyes, laughing unamused. “You mean if they saw _you_ , Jaehyun. I do not care that people can see us.” Johnny doesn’t look away, the golden embers of his eyes stunning Jaehyun with their profoundness. “I’m not fond of hiding my love for you.” 

“Don’t do this to me, John.” Jaehyun implores, sighing as he runs a hand through his golden locks. “You know of my circumstances.” If relations with a human are unfavorable in the eyes of the courts, connections with one of the fallen, with ones like Johnny, is simply taboo. They cannot risk getting caught, Jaehyun telling the other that with grave tone. 

“I’ve got to get to work now. I’ll see you, John.” Jaehyun leans in on his toes, standing to pull Johnny down, their foreheads meeting in a silent goodbye. Johnny nuzzles against Jaehyun, framing gentle hands around the other’s cheeks as he lays a final kiss to Jaehyun’s nose, dark wings flapping in the vacancy of the alley as he prepares to leave. 

Jaehyun watches wistfully as his lover takes to the skies, big and beautifully leaden wings a heavy contrast to the glow of the day. He ignores the hairs rising at the back of his neck as he observes Johnny until he’s a mere dot, before turning on a heel towards the entrance of the alleyway.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hello we're back but not really because punch ended me.

Days pass after Johnny’s sudden arrival, and the meetings for the Park-Zhong case conclude once again without resolution, Jaehyun being the strong-willed person he is trying to persuade his brothers the entire time he speaks, much to the dismay of everyone in the room who just wish for a settlement. 

As he exits the Assembly Hall, Jaehyun finds himself being yanked in similar fashion as his lover did, large hands covering his mouth to mute his surprise. After a brief struggle, he and his captor end up in the exact spot Doyoung questioned him times ago, stopping behind the shadow of a large marble pillar of the Tribunal building. Jaehyun’s assumptions are correct as he’s let go, taking large gasps of air as he watches Doyoung reveal himself from behind him. 

“We needed to speak. Privately.” Doyoung proclaims, the usual frown that mars his face sunken deeper as he looks disapprovingly at Jaehyun. 

Jaehyun huffs. "You couldn’t have called for me, or better yet, asked me to meet you?” Doyoung only crosses his arms in response, the stress-induced wrinkles only intensifying in his skin. 

“I’ll cut straight to the chase, Jaehyun.” Doyoung shakes his head, in disbelief that he even has to ask this of his closest brother. “Are you in relations with that _criminal_ Johnny Suh?” 

“Don’t you dare call him that, Doyoung!” Jaehyun bellows, stepping forward with a fiery glare, wings open in an act of intimidation. Doyoung regards the other with a cool stare in return, the many years to his age allowing him to stay unconcerned in situations like these. 

“I was right, I knew it.” Doyoung whispers, breaking the tense gaze shared between him and Jaehyun to turn his head, tears in his eyes as he looks away from his favorite younger brother. 

Jaehyun’s heart pangs as he notices the other’s response, wings inching down as he sheepishly moves back, ashamed that he let himself get like this. “Have you been watching us?” He asks with fretful curiosity, begging for Doyoung to just _look at him_. When the man in question doesn't meet his gaze, doesn’t respond, Jaehyun presses on. “Does anyone else know?” 

Jaehyun knew the merciless punishments of a relationship like his and Johnny’s, being a man of law made that a given, and yet, he wasn’t afraid. 

“Oh, goodness no, Jaehyun!” Doyoung looks absolutely bewildered at the question, screaming in his shock before cupping a hand over his mouth, eyes flitting anxiously around the echoing hall before he continues with a whisper. “As much as I was shocked, I would not reveal you like that.” 

At Doyoung’s words, Jaehyun feels something hard in him break, a certain weight off his shoulders as he understands that he unconsciously unveiled the true extent of his and Johnny’s relationship to Doyoung, his closest brother, one of the highest-ranking angels in the heavens. He doesn’t know whether or not to be afraid or calmed by another person’s knowing of Johnny, the conflicting emotions running through him simultaneously stunning him to silence. 

“I--I don’t know what to say, Doyoung, thank you-” Jaehyun stammers, his heart ultimately choosing to let himself bask in the glow of support from one of his own. 

“Do not thank me, brother. If the time comes, I will have to do what is best for my people, but until then I do understand. Look.” Doyoung sighs like he’s pained, but Jaehyun notices the smallest of a happy, proud even, smile to his face as pulls down the white of the garments around his neck. A faded, but still prominent mark of mating lays across Doyoung’s otherwise pure skin, the most primitive yet sacred form of bonding to the devil race branded into his brother. 

“His name is Taeyong. We met in similar fashion to you and Johnny centuries ago, and have been together since.” Doyoung sighs, looking elsewhere as he gains a reminiscent look in his eyes. Jaehyun on the other hand cannot keep his from widening, jaw dropping as Doyoung turns to him again, pulling up his robe to hide the mark to his neck. 

“I believe love has no limits. It transcends them, Jaehyun. I realized this.” Doyoung lays a firm hand to Jaehyun’s shoulder, squeezing it in a show of his blessing. “But I also realized that many others do not think this. You must be careful.” 

When Jaehyun nods in understanding, tears of his own threatening to spill in relief, Doyoung chuckles heartily, fingers tucking themselves under Jaehyun’s chin to meet his gaze. 

“Stay safe, and in the shadows if you must.” Doyoung urges, tender hands cradling Jaehyun’s face as he leaves the softest of kisses to the younger’s forehead, eyes imploring. 

“I must go now.” 

Jaehyun leans against the large pillar as he muses after Doyoung’s flying form, legs giving out from under him as he attempts to remind himself what just transpired. All he can make out from his disconcerted self is the feeling of reassurance and urgency, the need to be with Johnny overwhelming as his wings move on their own, taking to the skies with tenacity flowing to the tips. 

Eyes slipping from the case documents he was previously studying, sneaking from behind the small frames perched across his nose, Jaehyun’s face scrunches in chagrin as his focus once again shifts to the man lying in his bed. 

Johnny’s still as the low light radiates from the candle on Jaehyun’s desk, the muted glow of the glare highlighting his plush lips, his long eyelashes, like he’s the center of the universe, the Sun to Jaehyun’s heliocentric orbit around him, throughout him. 

The windows opened to let the heat of earlier passion melt into the winds now cause Johnny to shudder, eyes blinking from their sleep as he rouses from the sheets, pulling them up to cover his goose bump laden torso. 

From where Jaehyun watches, Johnny looks like any other, any sign of unearthly features gone with the breeze into the night as Johnny despises revealing any semblance of his true form to his lover. 

_“You would be scared, my angel.”_ He’d whispered to Jaehyun after his mystified questioning. 

Jaehyun hadn’t said anything in response then, but now, as he gazes at the man before him, golden eyes gleaming brightly against the soft lull of the wick, he knows that there is nothing Johnny can do, could have done, that would make him any less ethereal, never mind make him scary. 

Johnny notices the attention, catching Jaehyun off guard as those eyes meet his own in a drowsy but no less dizzying stare, Jaehyun’s thoughts seemingly read before he’s being questioned bemusedly. 

“Do you remember the first night I found you?” Johnny cuts himself off with a clearing of his throat, rising on the bed to give Jaehyun his undivided attention. Jaehyun returns it tenfold, turning his back uncomfortably in his chair. 

“How could I forget, John?” He answers with a small smile, reminiscent. 

Johnny reciprocates Jaehyun with a quirk of his lips. "It was when the beginnings of my horns and tail were developing; I was terrified, and you were the only thing I could think of throughout my fear. I had to find you.” 

Jaehyun nods in remembrance, because how could he not? A man of such large build as Johnny baffled Jaehyun to stillness in the middle of his doorway those many years ago, the other shrunken in on himself, eyes hesitant yet willing for anything that Jaehyun was to offer, just as long as it was Jaehyun that came along with it. 

Johnny opened himself up about his journey down as Jaehyun cleaned him; retold stories of his encounters as Jaehyun comforted him; revealed what he’d witnessed as Jaehyun kissed him for the first time. Recounting what they’d missed when they weren’t with each other, they’d promised themselves to one another. 

“Jaehyun, angel, come here.” Johnny pats the surface of the mattress, scooting back to make room for Jaehyun, whose reverie’s broken by the soft sound and the even softer voice of his lover. 

As he nestles in the warmth of Johnny’s arms, pure strength making him weary and awake simultaneously, Jaehyun’s interrupted by a finger to his chin, Johnny’s eyes roving over his face as he lifts Jaehyun’s head up for closer inspection. 

“Are you eating, angel? Are you getting enough sleep?” A hand settles around the prominent hills of his ribs, a gentle finger tracing the space under his eyes, Jaehyun being more than aware of the physical effects of the neglect regarding his health. 

Jaehyun huffs, placing a hand over the one resting on his side. "I haven’t been sleeping much since the start of this case.” Jaehyun rests his head against Johnny’s toned chest. “It hits too close to home. I’m really putting my all in for a just settlement.” 

Johnny only hums in response, constricting his arms tighter around Jaehyun’s lithe body, nuzzling his neck before gripping his chin to place a searing kiss to his lips. 

“Sleep now, my angel.” Johnny whispers, tone firm but no less sweet as he further tightens his body around his lover, enveloping the man with his heat, his heart, his soul. 

Jaehyun finds no trouble slipping into a deep sleep wrapped in the arms of his beloved, thoughts and questions about the revelations from Doyoung falling to the back of his head as he dozes off, mind only full of golden eyes and certainties about the man he adores. 

When the shimmering lights of a new day filter in through the still open windows, Jaehyun understands the cold that welcomes him, knows all too well the tremors that run their course at the empty sheets, but it doesn't hurt any less no matter how much he grasps the situation, grasps Johnny. 

Walking is beyond him, so Jaehyun finds himself hovering over to his desk, ignoring the growl from his stomach that disrupts the silence of the room with its intensity, Jaehyun blushing for no one to see. 

Running a hand along his scalp to righten his crazed curls, Jaehyun hesitates before he sits himself down for a little overview before work, stumbling upon a note and a plate of food placed neatly besides his documents. 

Smiling to himself, Jaehyun savors the bitter taste of pomegranate juice before lifting the note up to read. 

_My angel, my love, my dear Jaehyun._

_How I wish I could stay with you throughout the day, throughout the night._

_I know we can’t, but that does not stop me from wanting, from occasionally acting upon my deepest desires._

_I felt your need for me yesterday, and knew I had to leave everything to comfort you, to hold you._

_Our bond runs deep my love, and I’ve never been happier than the moments I spend basking in it with you._

_I will not be able to return for a while, but that is ok, we’ve made it this far._

_You will always be on my mind, for you are the only thing in it, my angel._

_Always and forevermore._

_Much Love,_

_Johnny._

Jaehyun sniffs as he places the note in the wooden box under his work desk, hidden from the world to hold all the little trinkets of love Johnny often leaves him. 

Wincing but reveling in the feeling of Johnny’s passionate devotion to him and his body, Jaehyun hovers until he reaches the bathroom, stepping right away into the shower to turn it to the highest temperature, but the scalding liquid is nothing compared to the memory of Johnny’s unwavering warmth. 

The weeks after Johnny’s understandable but no less painful absence, Jaehyun finds himself often in the company of Doyoung. The ranked angel had noticed the almost obsessive immersion Jaehyun had with the case, sensing troubles that ran deeper than angel-human relationships. 

Doyoung had took upon himself to accompany his brother, the two now frequenting the libraries of the Great Hall together to relax after the case; or rather, for Doyoung to relax, as he has Jaehyun reading the ancient lore of devil folk. 

“You need to know about your Johnny just as I do Taeyong.” Doyoung had explained when he saw the younger’s exasperated face as he dropped the heavy stack of dusty books on the table. 

“As much as you may choose to ignore it, he’s different from you now. A part of another world. You need to understand his just as much as your own if you two are truly want to stay as mates.” 

“But we’re not though, Doyoung.” Jaehyun was confused as to what Doyoung meant by mates. "Surely there’s more to it than-” Jaehyun lowered his voice, whispering as he glances around to find no one else in the seemingly abandoned library. “ _Sex._ ” 

Doyoung had rolled his eyes, though he smiled at the angel’s hesitance around the topic. 

“There are reasons I have brought you here and tell you to study, Jaehyun, and that is one of them. Please.” Doyoung lifts the books one by one until he finds the work he’d had in mind for Jaehyun, the splotched pages not going unnoticed by the other. "Start reading.” 

Jaehyun will forever be thankful for Doyoung’s insistence, for their visits had uncovered and answered many things about Johnny that had never even graced his mind. Doyoung was always willing to answer any of Jaehyun curious questions with anecdotes of his own that came with being mated to a demon. 

“Had it hurt, brother?” Jaehyun questions quietly, still reluctant to talk about certain things in the dim glow of the library, motioning towards Doyoung’s neck with inquisitive eyes. Confusion briefly overtakes the other’s face before he places a hand on his covered neck, small grin easing over Doyoung’s face in understanding. 

“Rather than hurting, it felt freeing.” Doyoung muses, hand unconsciously moving against the mark. "Do you ever feel overwhelmed by a feeling of euphoria without doing anything that would warrant it? Feel like you’re flying but you’re not moving?” 

Jaehyun doesn’t hesitate before he nods. Johnny always made him feel that way. 

“That’s what it felt like when Taeyong and I finally gave ourselves to each other.” Doyoung sighs. “That was centuries ago, and I’m still reeling from the effects. I feel like I’m whole when I was never separated from anything from the start. Taeyong completes me.” Doyoung’s eyes glance from where he was busy recollecting to meet Jaehyun’s with a deep stare. "As Johnny does you.” 

Jaehyun blanches in bewilderment; digging through his memory of anything in his books that pertained to the mating of demon folk. 

“But brother, that doesn’t make sense.” Jaehyun’s brows furrow in his confusion, turning red as he murmurs in response. “Johnny’s not bitten me.” 

Doyoung’s brows shoot up, the only reaction Jaehyun gets from the man before the other bursts into soft peals of laughter, the sound echoing off the lantern lit walls. Doyoung wipes a quick finger under his eyes as he returns to normal, righting himself as he regards Jaehyun with a semi-serious tone. 

“Jaehyun, how could you _not_ know? You and Johnny share a soul bond.” 

That night, Jaehyun can’t catch a wink of sleep as he recounts the hushed conversations between he and Doyoung at the revelation, more questions thrown at the other in his frenzied daze until they were kicked out by an exasperated Tribunal Leader Kun. 

Thoughts still plague his mind, but as Jaehyun settles, he realizes that he and Johnny never needed to share words, share their desires, share their worries to the world. The other always _knew_. 

“Because you are meant for each other, made for each other, Jaehyun. Of course words wouldn’t be important when you can simply _feel_.” Doyoung had expressed, smiling when he saw Jaehyun place a fluttering hand over his heart. 

Jaehyun does the same now, feeling it pulse under his skin, trying to find Johnny somewhere between the offbeat of its rhythm. Searching, Jaehyun sits up from the sheets, suddenly freezing when he senses the sound of a second heartbeat, the increase of volume in his ears as he feels the addition of another joining him. 

“Johnny?” Jaehyun asks to the quiet of his room, gaining a reply from no one. 

But abruptly, seemingly in response to the unsure question, Jaehyun jolts as he’s overwhelmed by heat, warmth enveloping his body like the arms of his lover, the synchronous song of their souls singing as they finally become aware of the other that was always there. 

The ghost of slurred speech is whispered into the night air, _I’m here my angel_ lingering throughout the deepest parts of Jaehyun until morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i just got a [twitter](https://twitter.com/idahoopotatoo) if ya'll wanna be moots (??) as they say 
> 
> i hope you enjoyed reading, twitter is so distracting so i need to step up my writing game lol
> 
> stay safe and thanks for reading <3

**Author's Note:**

> i guess you could say the holy tribunal is like a supreme court of sorts
> 
> i hope you enjoyed the first chapter of this fic, i will be updating regularly 
> 
> kudos and comments make me super duper happy <3
> 
> thanks for reading and stay safe (“⌒.⌒”)


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